Reviews of movies by the Hammer Film production company.
Friday, September 21st 2007
Grade: B+
Synopsis: Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) investigates the family curse surrounding a nobleman (Christopher Lee).
The Hound of the Baskervilles was Hammer’s take on Sherlock Holmes. Taking the same director and stars from their previous successes Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein, the film was intended as the first in a series of Sherlock Holmes pictures, and while the series never materialized, The Hound of the Baskervilles is still quite good.
Peter Cushing and André Morell are great as Holmes and Watson. While purists could argue that Cushing was too short for the role, his sharp, piercing performance more than makes up for it. Christopher Lee complements him nicely and does a great job of keeping things moving when Cushing is off-screen. MORE »
Posted at 6:34 PM in Movie Reviews, Christopher Lee, Hammer Film, Peter Cushing and Terence Fisher.
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Tuesday, September 18th 2007
Grade: D+
Synopsis: A couple on the run from a London street gang stumble onto a secret military experiment.
The Damned (These Are the Damned in the US) starts out well enough. The always excellent Oliver Reed leads a very creepy street gang as they ruthlessly beat an American tourist, but after this dynamite start the film meanders and eventually drifts into an overwrought, preachy, sci-fi tale whose big twist you’ll see coming a mile away.
It’s not all bad, though. The cinematography is sharp, the performances, outside of the aforementioned excellent Reed, are all fine, and the ending is about the best you could hope for, given the story. Finally, there’s the uber-catchy “Black Leather Rock” song composed by James Bernard that’ll have you humming for days. MORE »
Posted at 8:18 PM in Movie Reviews and Hammer Film.
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Thursday, August 16th 2007
Grade: B-
Synopsis: An irresponsible heir (Oliver Reed) and his sister are shocked by the return of their brother, long thought dead.
Paranoiac is a descent little contemporary thriller from the Hammer Film production company. While Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) no doubt influenced it heavily, the script by Jimmy Sangster is original enough to stand on its own.
Director Freddie Francis keeps things moving along, and manages to deliver some genuinely disturbing scenes without resorting to overt graphic violence.
The performances are a mixed bag. Oliver Reed is great in a role that could have easily been overplayed and Alexander Davion is acceptable as the protagonist, but Janette Scott falls victim to the over-emoting that seems to plague most Hammer heroines. MORE »
Posted at 5:56 PM in Movie Reviews and Hammer Film.
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Monday, August 13th 2007
Grade: B
Synopsis: A producer tracks a mysterious figure that haunts a London opera house.
The Phantom of the Opera was director Terrance Fisher’s follow up to the disastrous The Curse of the Werewolf (1961). He seems to have learned from his mistakes though, as the film wastes little time in getting the Phantom on screen, and is solid from beginning to end.
The cast is great. Herbert Lom is excellent as the Phantom (a role that may, or may not, have been written for Cary Grant), finding the perfect balance between mania and melancholy. Opposite him, Edward de Souza exudes an easy charm as the film’s romantic lead (another role that may, or may not, have been written for Cary Grant). Topping them both though, is Michael Gough as the wonderfully wicked villain. MORE »
Posted at 4:02 PM in Movie Reviews, Hammer Film and Terence Fisher.
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Tuesday, August 7th 2007
Grade: D-
Synopsis: A man (Oliver Reed) is born cursed with the sign of the werewolf.
The Curse of the Werewolf is one of those movies that make you wonder what the filmmakers were thinking. Oliver Reed has a lot of charisma and looks great in the werewolf makeup, but he doesn’t even show up until the halfway point. And the actual werewolf doesn’t really show up until the movie is two-thirds over! Instead, the movie wastes a lot of time setting up the back-story behind Reed’s character, back-story that could have easily been reduced to a paragraph of opening text. Indeed, it’s no wonder the movie flopped, but watching it, I can’t help but wonder if a little editing couldn’t have at least made it marginally better. MORE »
Posted at 2:37 PM in Movie Reviews, Hammer Film and Terence Fisher.
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